


Then there was you

by Elisexyz



Series: 25 days of Swanfire fic-mas [7]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, Drinking, F/M, First Meetings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-11
Updated: 2018-12-11
Packaged: 2019-09-15 23:36:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16942866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elisexyz/pseuds/Elisexyz
Summary: Neal and Emma don't have the most romantic of first meetings. They make do, though.





	Then there was you

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the "Mulled wine" prompt in the [ "25 days of fic-mas" challenge on Tumblr](http://heytheredeann.tumblr.com/tagged/25-days-of-fic-mas/chrono). I don't even know what I'm doing anymore LOL. Warning: there's some light Cora bashing here and there.

“ _Don’t_ throw up on my shoes,” Emma orders, although it’s probably more of a prayer than anything else.

She heads straight to the bathroom, forcibly keeping Regina up and pulling her along, sparing only a glance to check if there’s anybody paying attention to them in spite of the crowd – there doesn’t seem to be, fortunately.

“I told you to go easy on the alcohol,” she mumbles, although she should probably be saving the I-told-you-so speech for when Regina will be fully functional and able to suffer through it.

I mean, Emma can’t really blame her that much, considering that they are there to visit her mother and, honestly, Cora is only pleasant when she’s unconscious, but _still_ , she told her to go easy on the mulled wine, and she’s sure that Regina not only didn’t listen but she also snatched some other stuff to drink, here and there.

So now Emma has to carry her to the bathroom, hopefully before she makes a mess of her shoes.

They do make it in just in time, and, with a very pained grimace, Emma moves to hold her hair back. Regina _so_ owes her for this.

It’s only when she steps away to grab something for her to wipe her face with that Emma notices that there’s someone else who is in the exact same situation as her.

“Uh, hey,” a guy with messy curly hair and a very inappropriate smile, considering the circumstances, says. “There’re napkins and stuff over there,” he points. In the stall behind her there’s a dark-haired man, who looks just as miserable as Regina.

Emma raises her eyebrows, glancing back at the guy standing in front of her. “This is the women’s bathroom.”

He shrugs. “It was closer. Kind of an emergency. How’s your friend?”

She throws a glance over her shoulder to find that Regina is sitting with her back against the bathroom stall, muttering something that she can’t hear from there.

“She’s been worse,” she dismisses, and it isn’t even a lie: this isn’t the messiest situation she’s ever seen Regina in, although it might make it to the top five. “How about yours?”

The guy snorts. “It’s a wonder that he can still get drunk, honestly.” A pause. “I’m Neal,” he adds. He doesn’t offer her his hand to shake, which considering the circumstances is probably sensible of him.

“Emma,” she replies, reciprocating his friendly smile before trailing off to get a napkin or two for Regina.

She seems to be done with the vomiting, for now, and Emma even manages to get her to wash her face and drink some water. If she can stand straight while going out, maybe they can slip away unnoticed – if she were to stumble across Cora and hear her make a single condescending comment about her daughter, Emma is pretty sure that it would end in a fistfight.

“Alright, buddy, let’s go,” Neal says, behind them, before pulling his friend on his feet. The guy gives him an adoring, toothy smile, sliding his arm around his shoulders.

“You’re a good bloke, this one,” he announces, in a thick Irish accent, turning towards Emma and pointing at Neal. “Good one, aye.”

“I’m sure he is,” Emma snorts, amused.

Neal just rolls his eyes, patting his friend in the back. “Yeah, yeah, thanks, pal,” he mumbles, before turning his attention to Emma. “Dragging him through the streets will be a lot of _fun_.”

“Uh, I have a car,” she replies, impulsively, shifting a little so that she can hold up Regina’s weight better. “I mean, if you can give me directions I’ll drive you.”

His eyes basically light up. “Deal, thank you,” he immediately says.

Which is how they end up swimming through the crowd, trying to take away their drunk friends as soon as possible without anyone else noticing that they are, in fact, wasted. The fact that everyone around them is at least a bit tipsy probably helps them succeed.

They put Regina and Killian – because apparently that’s the second guy’s name – in the backseat, and Neal gives an appreciative ounce over to her yellow Bug.

“Sweet ride,” he comments, before getting in.

Emma thanks him, offering an appreciative grin, because she _loves_ that old car: it’s been with her for years now, and any comment like that gains a guy a good amount of points. Add that to the shirt complete with a tie loosely hanging around his neck, that smile that he keeps flashing at her _and_ the overall good looks…

They have been in the car for only an handful of minutes, when Killian suddenly yells: “Give it back!”

Regina, who apparently has already grown out of her silently-drunk-and-miserable phase to move into loud-and-annoying territory, yells back: “No!”

Emma checks from the mirror what the hell is going on, whereas Neal simply turns around. Apparently, Regina is holding a ring hostage.

“That’s my bloody lucky ring— it’s _mine_ ,” Killian insists, leaning towards her to try and snatch it away. Considering that his coordination at the moment is what it is, the most he gets out of it is elbowing her in the face.

“Regina, come _on_ ,” Emma intervenes, before she can try to retaliate. She feels a lot like a mother with two very loud children in the backseat. “Just give it back.”

“No. I like it,” she replies, resolutely. Then she gives Killian a shove, swaying her whole body to hit him with her shoulder.

“Give it _back_ —” Killian insists, and Emma can only wonder what the hell she did in a previous life to deserve this. Judging by Neal’s face, he’s thinking the exact same thing.

“Just—just take it from her,” she tells him. “Get it over with.”

Neal hesitates for a second, but then he leans back towards Regina, trying to get the damn ring back already. He manages, but not without incident: Regina yells at him _and_ manages to scratch him with those ridiculous nails that she somehow manages never to break.

“Jesus,” he mumbles, giving Regina a deeply wounded look, before turning towards her.

Emma offers the most apologetic grimace she can come up with. “Sorry. She— does that sometimes.” She probably should have taken it into account before telling him to take the damn thing back.

Neal smashes the ring against Killian’s palm. “Here, but if she takes it again you’re on your own.”

In return, he receives an adoring look and a ‘Thanks, Bae’.

Well, that’s a surprise. “Oh. I didn’t think you two—” she comments, unable to repress a slight note of disappointment.

Although, really, she could have guessed, with all those heart eyes.

“Ah, no,” Neal corrects her, shrugging. “Bae’s a—a nickname. From my first name.”

She frowns. “What the hell is that short for?” she scoffs, trying not to look too obviously relieved that apparently it isn’t his boyfriend sitting in the backseat.

“Yeah, no, that’s at the very least a fourth date question, sorry,” he grins.

She snorts, smiling a little in amusement as well and doing a fairly good job at not looking like her stomach just took a very hopeful leap.

 

When they do get to the first destination, Neal somehow manages to pull Killian out of the backseat – it’s no easy task, because in the meantime it seems that he and Regina have developed a solid friendship based on mutual hatred for the movie adaptations of _Harry Potter_ , and apparently they don’t want to be separated –, and before closing the door he leans forward, flashing a grin her way.

“So, uh, thanks for the ride,” he begins. “Maybe I could pay you back, one of these days?”

“Oh, yeah? How?” she teases.

His grin widens. “Maybe a drink,” he says, with a deliberate glance at the backseat.

She snorts, way more amused than she should be. “Just hand me your phone, I’ll save my number,” she replies, shaking her head but still smiling.  

**Author's Note:**

> This story is part of the [LLF Comment Project](https://longlivefeedback.tumblr.com/llfcommentproject), which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates feedback, including: 
> 
>   * Short comments
>   * Long comments
>   * Questions
>   * “<3” as extra kudos
>   * Reader-reader interaction
> 

> 
> If you don’t want a reply, for any reason, feel free to sign your comment with “whisper” and I will appreciate it but not respond!


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